Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Analyst Says

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) had its price target lifted by Raymond James from $51.00 to $56.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $40.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Cheesecake Factory from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Cheesecake Factory from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Cheesecake Factory in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.93.

Cheesecake Factory Stock Performance

NASDAQ CAKE opened at $47.57 on Monday. Cheesecake Factory has a twelve month low of $31.24 and a twelve month high of $52.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ:CAKE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The restaurant operator reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.11. Cheesecake Factory had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 43.90%. The business had revenue of $865.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cheesecake Factory will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheesecake Factory Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Cheesecake Factory’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.06%.

Insider Transactions at Cheesecake Factory

In other Cheesecake Factory news, insider Keith Carango sold 13,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $653,178.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $747,052.76. This represents a 46.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 8.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cheesecake Factory

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 2.8% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,831,381 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,245,000 after purchasing an additional 76,578 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Cheesecake Factory by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,876,295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,084,000 after purchasing an additional 67,550 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cheesecake Factory by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,241,272 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $48,772,000 after acquiring an additional 43,128 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,118,549 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $45,365,000 after purchasing an additional 12,493 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cheesecake Factory by 31.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 942,694 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,038,000 after buying an additional 223,497 shares in the last quarter. 94.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated operates and licenses restaurants in the United States and Canada. The company operates bakeries that produce cheesecakes and other baked products for its restaurants, international licensees, third-party bakery customers, external foodservice operators, retailers, and distributors.